Volleyball squad anxious to open at home Tuesday night

Aug 28, 2010

Tech plays first home match Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
when it hosts Belmont

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech finished off the Big
Orange Bash with a 3-2 loss to Jacksonville in what turned out to
be a see-saw battle. The Dolphins won the match with set scores of
25-23, 25-20 and 15-9, falling short on sets one and three with
scores of 12-25 and 17-25. Tech also absorbed a 3-0 loss to Clemson
in its first match of the day.

Against Jacksonville the Golden Eagles took the first set
easily as they dominated throughout en route to a 25-12 victory.
Senior outside hitter Leah Meffert, Marie Peddicord (middle
blocker) and sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Gray each chipped in
with three kills to lead the team for the win.

The Dolphins responded in the second with a 25-23 victory that
went right down to the wire. Meffert and Peddicord continued to
pace the offense as they tallied seven and five kills each.

TTU answered right back in the third set as they posted seven
total blocks and forced 10 attack errors en route to a 25-17
victory.

In the fourth set, Jacksonville came up with a 25-20 win to
force a final fifth set. The Dolphins completed the comeback as
they took the fifth set, 15-9.

"We played two good, clean sets," head coach John Blair said.
"Hopefully they got a taste of what they're capable of."

Peddicord lead TTU on the offensive side as she tallied 15
kills on 18 attempts for a .722 hitting percentage. Meffert posted
15 kills, while freshman defensive specialist Allison May led the
team in digs with 11. Senior setter Melanie Culp ended the match
with 35 assists.

The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles lost the first of their two
final matches of the Clemson Big Orange Bash to Clemson 3-0.

Tennessee Tech shouldered the loss to Clemson by the scores of
25-13, 25-12 and 25-18 to start the day. Meffert lead the Golden
Eagles with nine kills, while May led the team in digs with
12.

“Clemson is a good team,” Blair said. “They
are taller and more athletic than most teams in the OVC and this
will give us good experience down the road.”

Tennessee Tech opens its 2010 home schedule against Belmont
Tuesday, at 7 p.m.

Tournament Notes:

Sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Gray was named to the Big Orange
Bash all-Tournament Team. During the three matches Gray led the
team in total blocks with nine and recorded 19 kills and 11
digs.